Plow liftable for transport



April 16, 1957 H. A. BONNEL. 2,788,727

' PLOW LIFTABLE FOR TRANSPORT Filed March 10. 1954 ,7 o F7 I 7 1 70 #1 F2 17 i ,2 9 a 75' 8 76 4a United States Patent 0 F I; T lde present invention relates to a method which permits of the use, without intermediate mechanism or jacks, ,Ri'f the vertical or lateral movements of the hydraulic,

pneumatic, electric, or other types of lifting arrangements with which agricultural tractors are provided, for the purpose of putting into service or out of service the working parts of the half-carried or towed equipment which is used in mechanised cultivation.

This method is essentially characterised by the fact that there is utilised a chain or the like of constant length which passes over at least one roller or other idler-wheel, this roller and this chain being given a relative movement through the medium of the lifting arrangement of the tractor such that the chain, being fixed at its extremities in a suitable manner, can apply, at any point whatever in its length and in the desired direction, a force practically equal to that applied by the lifting system, the said force being used to effect the putting into service or out of service of the working parts of the equipments, the whole weight of these latter remaining constantly supported by wheels. The present invention concerns a particular embodiment of the above-mentioned principle.

The invention covers also, as new industrial products, all equipments used in mechanised cultivation, whether half-carried or towed, which carry the method abovementioned into effect.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the description which is given below with respect to the attached drawings, the latter representing diagrammatically and simply by way of example, diiferent possible forms of application of the invention.

In these drawings:

Figs. 1 and 2 are views in elevation of a half-carried plough which puts into effect the method in accordance with the invention, the said plough being shown respectively in the position for transport and in the working position.

The application of the invention to a plough of the half-carried type will now be described by reference to Figs. 1 and 2. The plough which is shown is essentially constituted by a main tubular beam 7 on which the supporting framework 8 of the two sets of plough-shares 9a and 9b is pivotally mounted, the pivotal movement of this supporting framework being obtained by means of an operating lever 10 with a ratchet arrangement 11 placed Within the reach of the driver of the tractor. The front end of the beam 7 comprises the coupling member 6a which is adapted for connection to the lifting arms 1 of the tractor. On the rear extremity of the beam 7, there is fixed a vertical sleeve 12 which is arranged to slide freely along a rod 13, at the base of which there is provided a set of supporting wheels 14 mounted in castor fashion.

The main beam 7 is maintained horizontal by means of the cable 3 of constant length which has been previously referred to. This cable 3 is arranged to pass inside the beam 7, approximately along the axis of the latter, its front end 3a being fixed to the member 5 secured to the tractor 2, whilst its rear end 3b is fixed to the base of a threaded rod 15 which is mounted in a sleeve 16 rigidly fixed to the rod 13 and which is provided with a hand- Wheel 17. On the other hand, the cable 3 passes over the idler rollers 4a and 4b which are respectively mounted Patented Apr. 16, 1957 on the front portion and the rear portion of the main beam 7.

it will immediately be apparent that the cable 3, being of constant length and fixed at its two extremities, the main beam 7 is always maintained in a horizontal position Whatever may be the position of the lifting arms 1 of the tractor, owing to the fact that the rear idler roller 4b is subjected at every moment to a force F1 directed upwards and which is equal to the force F2 which is exerted by the lifting arms 1 on the support member 6a.

it will clearly be seen that in acting on the lifting arms 1 of the tractor, the main beam 7 passes from the raised position, which is its normal position for transport (Fig. 1) to the lowered working position (Fig. 2) and vice versa by moving upwards or downwards parallel to itself. The earthing and the unearthing of the plough-shares are thus ensured in a particularly simple and efiective manner without necessitating the use of jacks or supplementary mechanism, as is necessary in the case of machines in use at the present time.

It will furthermore be seen that by screwing or unscrewing the rod 15 in the sleeve 16 by means of the hand-Wheel 17, the plough-shares may be caused to dig more or less deeply into the earth to an amount suitable for the ground being worked.

Since the plough is constantly supported on the lifting system at its front portion and by the train of wheels 14 at its rear portion, the method of disengagement of the plough-shares from the earth, which has just been described, may be applied to ploughs with two or three sets of plough-shares, contrary to supported ploughs which are necessarily limited to a single plough-share by reason of their overhang.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claim.

I claim:

in an agriculture implement for use with a tractor, a frame including a tubular beam, plough-shares pivotally mounted on said beam, an operating lever mounted on said beam for controlling the pivotal movement of said plough-shares, a coupling member secured to the front end of said beam, lifting arms pivotally secured to said tractor and to said coupling member, means supporting the rear end of said beam, a stationary member operatively connected to said supporting means, a fixed member joined to said tractor, a first pulley mounted on said frame adjacent said fixed member, a second pulley mounted on said frame adjacent said stationary member, flexible means of fixed length secured at one end to said fixed member and secured at the other end to said stationary member, said flexible means being trained over said pulleys and extending through said tubular beam, said arms being movable in response to operating means to produce a relative displacement between said flexible means and said beam, said beam being moved vertically, the longitudinal axis thereof remaining parallel to the surface of the ground, the movement of said beam downwardly causing said plough-shares to engage the ground.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,517,086 Mattice Nov. 25, 1924 2,552,891 Evans et al. May 15, 1951 2,595,289 Peterson May 6, 1952 2,633,788 Nelson Apr. 7, 1953 2,673,505 Altgelt Mar. 30, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 701,603 Great Britain Dec. 30, 1953 

